Women Managers’ Careers in China: Theorizing the Influence of Gender and Collectivism

• Author: Ben Lupton,Carol Woodhams,Huiping Xian
• Date: 01 November 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21643
• Published date: 01 November 2015

Human Resource Management, November–December 2015, Vol. 54, No. 6. Pp. 913–931

© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI:10.1002/hrm.21643

Correspondence to: Carol Woodhams, University of Exeter Business School, Streatham Court, Rennes Drive, Exeter

EX4 4ST, UK, Phone: 0044 1392722137, Fax: 0044 1392723210, E-mail: C.Woodhams@exeter.ac.uk.

WOMEN MANAGERS’ CAREERS

INCHINA: THEORIZING

THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER

AND COLLECTIVISM

CAROL WOODHAMS, HUIPING XIAN, AND BEN LUPTON

This article is concerned with developing an understanding of the careers

of women managers in China. Existing literature suggests that while women

in China are comparatively well represented in management roles, they face

distinctive pressures and barriers to their progress arising from entrenched

patriarchal and collectivist aspects of the Chinese cultural tradition. However,

little is known about how these aspects impact on women’s orientations towards

their careers and to what extent infl uential Western career theories are adequate

in interpreting their experience. Drawing on interviews with 20 women manag-

ers in China, the article interprets women’s orientations towards their careers

in relation to their adherence to traditional gender roles and collectivist values.

Using this framework, a fourfold taxonomy is developed which identifi es “con-

formist,” “revolutionary,” “soloist,” and “dissident” orientations. The article sug-

gests that Western career theories fail to capture the collective dimension, and

thus do not account fully for the range of experience and orientations of Chinese

women managers that are captured in the taxonomy. Implications, both practi-

cal and theoretical, are discussed. Recommendations are also made as to how

management and career development policies might be developed in organiza-

tions in China in order to address the diverse needs and preferences of women

managers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: gender diversity, international HRM, work-family confl ict, careers

Introduction

This article provides an interpretation

and analysis of the career experiences of

women managers in China. While there

is a developing literature on the position

of women in the Chinese labor market

and the factors that influence their progress (e.g.,

Cooke, 2003, 2010; Leung, 2002; Maurer-Fazio,

Connelly, Chen, & Tang, 2011), comparatively

little is known about how Chinese women man-

agers understand their careers, and how they re-

spond to the opportunities and barriers that they

face. As a number of authors have pointed out

(Adya, 2008; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009; Tu, Forret,

& Sullivan, 2006), this represents a significant gap

in the literature, and one that has been difficult to

address given the difficulties for Western scholars

in gaining access to Chinese women managers

914 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2015

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

We examine how

women’s career

orientations are

influenced by two

parameters: the

extent to which

they commit to

individualist or

collectivist values

and the degree to

which they accept or

challenge traditional

gender roles.

segregation (Kirton & Greene, 2010), both verti-

cal (between organizational levels) and horizon-

tal (between occupations), is present in China.

Women and men cluster in gender-typed occupa-

tions (Dong etal., 2004); women are less likely to

be found in the higher paid professions (for exam-

ple, manager, lawyer, information technology [IT]

specialist) and sectors (Cooke, 2010; Wei, 2011)

and are disproportionally found in lower-level

positions (for example, production worker, sec-

retary, cleaner) within (Leung, 2002; Wei, 2011).

However, the evidence suggests that segregation

is less marked than in the West and lower than in

other Asian societies (Cooke, 2010). The gender

wage gap—typically reported as being between 20

and 30 percent (Cooke, 2001; L. Zhang & Dong,

2008)—is also similar to that in many Western

societies, although again low by global standards

(Maurer-Fazio & Hughes, 2002). The participation

rate of women in the Chinese economy—44.8

percent of the workforce (Information Office

of the State Council of the People’s Republic of

China, 2005)—is much higher than the global

average; over 80 percent of women in all age

groups between 20 and 50 years work, compared

with a world average of 55.2 percent (Cooke,

2005). Similarly, more than 90 percent of women

of childbearing age are employed, as Chinese

women are much more likely to remain economi-

cally active over this period than those in many

Western economies (Cook & Dong, 2011; Cooke,

2003). Three main factors have been identified as

underlying these patterns: traditional values in

Chinese society; the legacy of state socialism; and

the impact of market reforms. We consider each

in turn.

Traditional Chinese cultural values have

historically subordinated women and excluded

them from public life (Kitching, 2001; Liu, Dong,

& Zheng, 2010; Omar & Davidson, 2001). There

are two main aspects. First, China is a patriarchal

society, that is, one with “… a system of social

structures and practices in which men domi-

nate, oppress and exploit women” (Walby, 1989,

p. 214) in which women are subject to power-

ful gendered ideologies (Ebrey, 2003; Granrose,

2007). This patriarchal system, drawing on

Confucian values, prescribes for women a role

that is socially inferior to men (Eagly, Wood, &

Diekman, 2000). Women’s social development is

also shaped by the requirement to aspire to a set of

desirable characteristics: yin—lowly, lacking ini-

tiative, servile, obedient, obligated and less intel-

ligent (than men) (Ban, 2003). The influence of

Confucian values (in particular) on gender roles

remains prevalent (Chou, Fosh, & Foster, 2005;

Leung, 2003; Maurer-Fazio & Hughes, 2002;

and securing their trust (Tu et al., 2006). As a

consequence, there is a limited understanding of

how best to support women’s progress in manage-

ment in China and of the applicability of Western

career theory in understanding and informing

this process.

In this article, we seek to address these limita-

tions through an analysis of the results of inter-

views with 20 women managers in China. In doing

so, we give voice to Chinese women’s perspectives

on life and career. Our first aim is to provide an

interpretation of these and suggest an explanation

for the variety that we found. This interpretation

is rooted in the distinctive—and changing—cul-

tural context in China. Specifically, we examine

how women’s career orientations are influenced

by two parameters: the extent to

which they commit to individualist

or collectivist values and the degree

to which they accept or challenge

traditional gender roles. Our second

aim, drawing on this, is to develop

a taxonomy of career orientations

of Chinese women managers and

an analytical framework for analyz-

ing and interpreting them, which

will be useful for future research and

policy development. Our final aim

is to reflect on the extent to which

the approach of current Western

career theory is equipped to address

the range of career experiences and

orientations captured in the taxon-

omy, and to suggest how this might

be developed to become appropriate

for the Chinese context.

The article starts by review-

ing the position of women in the

Chinese labor market and the

(changing) cultural, economic, and

social context that impacts on this. This provides

the context for the subsequent analysis and inter-

pretation of our findings, and the development of

the taxonomy. We conclude with reflections on

how career theory might be developed in the light

of our analysis, and with suggestions for future

research and management practice.

Women in the Chinese Economy

There is long-standing recognition that women in

China hold a subordinate position in employment

(Dong, Macphail, Bowles, & Ho, 2004; N. Zhang,

2012), one they share with women in Western

societies. However, patterns of women’s employ-

ment are not directly equivalent to those in the

West and the underlying reasons are often differ-

ent. The familiar Western pattern of occupational